Hari Nair

• Professor, industrial design, 2017-present, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA
Share corporate knowledge gained during the past decade with a new generation of designers and design strategists. Focus on Design Methodology in practice, entrepreneurship and Design Strategy for Management. The goal is to expand the knowledge base that exists in design methodologies and extend their effectiveness in the business context.

• Chief design officer, 2015-2017, Whirlpool China, Whirlpool Corporation, Hefei/Shanghai, China
Responsible for strategic design leadership, reporting to the chairman of the newly acquired company in China, as a member of the global integration team. Champion for brand development and EBLs (Experience Brand Languages) for three brands (Whirlpool, Diqua, Royalstar) in China. Built local talent pool and design competencies to deliver high quality products for local and global consumption. Four successful products designed by the team launched within a two-year time frame, winning several local and global design awards including two iF awards.

• Global director, 2010-2015, Advanced Design Studio, Whirlpool Corporation, Benton Harbor, MI/Chicago
Visionary global leadership position for the home appliance giant, inventing the future through design thinking for competitive advantage. Created five-year roadmaps for innovative products, mindful of lifestyle trends and new technologies, delivering “vision concepts” for strategic review by top management and the board of directors.

• Director, 2004-2010, Global Consumer Design Asia, Whirlpool Corporation, New Delhi/Shanghai
Pivotal role in the turnaround of the Asia business through the introduction of a strong design process in concert with business strategy, delivering a series of award-winning, highly successful products in the Asian market.

• Founder/President, 2002-2004, TechMediator, Cambridge, MA
Startup venture provided technology mediation expertise to academia with a view toward improving the quality of the educational experience, offering an array of services including curriculum development and instructional technology training. Supporting member of the New Media Consortium. Clients included MIT (Open Courseware), ITT Education, and major educational publishing companies.

• Director, 1995-2002, Emerson College, Boston
Hired by the leadership as part of the effort to transform the college into “the communication school of the new Millennium.” Emerson College (est. 1880) is one of the leading communications colleges in the U.S. with a long history and well-known alumni in the media and entertainment industry. Visionary role for strategic integration of new media technologies into the curriculum resulting in Interaction Design and New Media specializations.

• Director/adjunct professor, 1989-1995, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Integrated computer graphics technology in art and design programs at RISD developing state-of-the-art resources to support curriculum. Provided leadership and direction for the multimillion-dollar RISD/IBM joint study working with faculty from architecture, industrial design, textile design, fashion design, graphics, illustration, photography, and fine arts. Collaborated with Interaction Design Group at Apple Computers.

• Acting director/assistant professor, 1983-1989, College of Design Architecture and Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati
Established the Computer Graphics Center at  the university with funding from the Ohio Board of Regents, IBM, and Apple, serving curricular needs of engineering, architecture, art, and design disciplines. Taught industrial design and computer graphics, introducing 3D modeling and simulation in the design process.